Ted Wafer Sentenced to 15-30 Years for Killing Renisha McBride

On August 7, 2014, Theodore “Ted” Wafer was found guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and unlawful use of a weapon in the killing of 19-year old Renisha McBride.

McBride was intoxicated, and had an automobile accident where at trial, evidence was given that her head struck the windshield. For reasons unknown, Renisha knocked on Wafer’s front door and was greeted with a shotgun shell to her face that killed her.

Wafer claimed self-defense, a defense that has caused some others to slide away from consequences for taking the life of a human being when evidence says otherwise.

Today, Judge Hathaway called it “one of the saddest cases” she’s ever heard.

“A young woman’s life is gone and otherwise a law-abiding citizen’s life is gone. Although the evidence clearly shows in this case that Ms. McBride made some terrible choices that night, none of them justified taking her life.

At this morning’s sentence hearing, members of McBride’s family addressed the judge in impact statements. Among them was Diane Pearson, Renisha’s 66-year-old grand-aunt, who said, “I’d like to have had 17 more years.”

Renisha’s dad, Walter Simmons, told the court during his statement that he’ll never have the opportunity to watch his daughter “grow up, be a woman, have kids.”

Cheryl Carpenter, Wafer’s defense attorney, argued that a sentence of more than 10 years would be life for the now 55-year old wafer. She argued that because Ted is not likely to commit any further crimes, that he should not be sentenced to more than 6 years. Judge Hathaway disagreed, pointing out that his sentence is for the crime he did commit.

A shot across the bow to “fearful” armed self-defense fanatics. What flies in FL ain’t gonna fly in a lot of states. It is sad, though – sad for the McBride family, sad for Wafer. Too bad he didn’t use better judgment. Compassion is revolution!

Two sides,
You might already know that it’s my position that had Juror B37 not been on Zimmerman’s jury, Zimmerman would be sitting in prison now. I see that Carpenter tried the Juror B37 thing in court this morning, inferring that Ted learned his lesson, will not commit any more crimes, and thus, should not have been convicted.

Two sides,
Thanks for the info. Common sense told me that had Mike been convicted of felonies as a juvenile, he would have been in some juvi prison rather than attending and graduating from a regular high school and walking the streets. The liars are ignorant — they think there is no punishment for a juvenile convicted of a felony, so all Black teens who are free are still convicts.

But he got thrown out on his other defamation case, right? Because of that public status he craved and pursued so blatantly?! So … he might want to see how that appeal goes before he starts filing patently frivolous lawsuits!

As I watched the hearing and listened to attorney Cheryl Carpenter, I wondered about her trial experience. She is so argumentative that she even contradicted her own arguments at times. Continuously, she tried convincing the judge that the jury was wrong and case decisions based on sentencing guidelines do not match the statutes. The judge told her, in so many words, to tell it to the appellate court.

A young woman’s life is gone, and an otherwise law abiding citizen’s life is ruined.

A common theme from the letters of your friends and family, Mr. Wafer, is that of bad choices. And, although the evidence clearly showed in this case that Miss McBride made some terrible choices that night, none of them justified taking her life.

I do not believe that you are a cold-blooded murderer or that this case had anything to do with race or that you are some sort of monster. I do believe that you acted out of some fear, but mainly anger and panic.

And, unjustified fear is never an excuse for taking somebody’s life. In order to take someone’s life based on fear, it has to be honest and reasonable.

And, someone knocking and pounding on your door at 4:30 in the morning rarely creates an honest and reasonable situation that would justify taking another person’s life.

So, what do we have? One life gone and one life ruined.

I am confident that, if you weren’t going to prison today, you would never commit another crime for the rest of your life. I am also certain that you are remorseful and that you regret your actions immeasurably. However, none of that excuses what happened in this case, and I’m certain that you thought about the family over and over again.

and how the evidence in this case showed that, when Miss McBride was intoxicated, disoriented, injured and bleeding, regardless of whether or not she sought help, she NEEDED help. And, when she needed help, she ended up meeting her death.

I fully recognize that you did not bring these circumstances to your doorstep. They arrived there. But, once they did, you made choices that brought us here today.

I would call it the worst mistake of your life, but I don’t know that you can ever use the word mistake to describe a murder. And, a person was murdered.

I cannot go below the guidelines. In this case your attorney wanted 4 to 7. The prosecutor’s office through People’s State of Michigan, Kim Worthy’s office, has asked for a guideline sentence, and I think that that’s reasonable.

I do have to assess costs. $68 – State costs. Crime victim’s assessment cost, the amount of $130.

You’re going to be sentenced to 2 years for felony firearm conviction which will be consecutive to the murder in the 2nd degree and the statutory manslaughter convictions which will run concurrent to one another. For the 2nd degree murder conviction, I am going to sentence you to 15 to 30 years. For the statutory manslaughter 7 to 15 years.

You will receive credit for 28 days.

Mr. Wafer, you have a right to appeal your conviction and sentence with the Court of Appeals. If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you, and that attorney will be furnished with enough (certified?) record required to handle your appeal. And, that request must be made within 42 days.

Thanks, Yahtzee. I was glad to see this quote because if we’re going to allow guns for everyone in this country, there MUST be accountability for how they are used:

And, unjustified fear is never an excuse for taking somebody’s life. In order to take someone’s life based on fear, it has to be honest and reasonable.
And, someone knocking and pounding on your door at 4:30 in the morning rarely creates an honest and reasonable situation that would justify taking another person’s life.

I agree. That reveals a VERY aggressive mindset – in my mind, a predisposition for violence and planning ahead for it.

I might be an outlier as far as my view of this case, but I really do NOT feel sympathetic or sorry for him AT ALL. I disagree with the judge in that I do view him as a cold-blooded murderer – as well as an obvious liar just trying to get away with it.

This new investigation would be much broader, looking at the conduct of the entire Ferguson Police Department over the past several years.

The Justice Department will also look at the practices of the county police department, but that will be a more cooperative investigation, an administration official said.

Since 1994, the Justice Department has had the legal authority to investigate whether a law enforcement organization is engaging in a “pattern or practice” of civil rights violations. Some investigations end with agreements to improve conduct. Others end up in federal court for a resolution.

Xena, heck yes this is good news! Not only Ferguson PD but the whole county practices will be under investigation.

Someone posted a video of Rooda (msp) beating a young man who was cuffed. I believe St. Louis PD is where it happened at. Question: is this the same police who started the fundraiser for Darren Wilson and is currently a Representative for a district?

well! how refreshing! for a change, we actually make it all the way to a sentencing hearing. i can hardly stand it. it is also good to see the prosecution and the judge holding firm to the murder conviction and sentencing accordingly. i think ms carpenter should look at other career opportunities while still using her law degree. trial attorney does not seem to suit her well. i find her arguments disingenuous and her inability to maintain her composure just points to ‘look elsewhere’ if i could give her career advice.

fauxmccoy, I suspect that you folks have miss judged Mz. Carpenter, she has played her role in this trial quite a lot better than you give her credit for. Her actions or should I say inactions, set in place the request for a new trial due to poor representation by and for the defense. While I might well be wrong, but I would predict the verdict might be different in a new trial, especially if there is a new judge, and the defense is allowed any input on the jury. Never forget it is not so much as to the validity of the evidence presented, the way it is presented often makes more difference than the truth… Let’s hope I am wrong, but am I? 41 days and counting….

i do not think wafer would succeed on the basis of ineffective council, the bar is set quite high for that to be the case. at any rate, her father (who presumably has many more years as a trial attorney) was right beside carpenter the whole time. i just do not see any court accepting that both carpenters were incompetent, which they would have to do.

Faux,
Excellent observations of Ms. Carpenter. I’ve not had much experience observing sentence hearings, but for a defense attorney to argue with the judge that the sentencing should not be for the crime that the defendant was convicted of, is very disrespectful of the judicial system. It’s also disrespectful of the victim and the victim’s family, IMHO.